The stage appears set for development of the controversial Jefferson Parkway to move forward after a federal district court judge on Friday dismissed a consolidated lawsuit seeking to block a land swap intended to provide the last piece of needed right-of-way for the project.

The elaborate land deal involves the trading of a 617-acre parcel near the southwestern corner of Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, known as Section 16, for a 300-foot-wide transportation right of way on the eastern edge of the refuge that runs parallel to Indiana Avenue in the area.

Completion of the deal is critical to acquiring the necessary right-of-way to build a high-speed toll road through the area, a road the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority--an entity representing Broomfield, Arvada and Jefferson County--says will nearly complete a regional beltway around metro Denver.

The deal first landed in federal court late last year when the town of Superior sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is in charge of the wildlife refuge and is seeking to add Section 16 to its acreage. Superior is claiming an insufficient environmental review had been performed.

The refuge was formerly part of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons facility and Superior has disputed the service's findings that the land swap would have "no significant impact" on the natural or human environment. Town officials have expressed concern that any construction in the area could disturb plutonium that accumulated in the soil on the site during the decades it was an active nuclear weapons plant.

That suit was later consolidated with similar suits filed by the City of Golden and by environmental groups WildEarth Guardians and Rocky Mountain Wild.

U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer addressed the plaintiffs' combined concerns in a 96-page opinion and ultimately ruled that the land swap deal meets the legal standards needed to proceed.

"The Court finds that the Fish and Wildlife Service complied with the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, Rocky Flats Act the Endangered Species Act and the Refuge Act in approving the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority's proposal and upholds the Dec. 2, 2011 Decision Notice and finding of no significant impact," the ruling reads, in part.

For proponents of the parkway, Friday's ruling could not have come too soon.

The deal included multiple federal agencies and local governments, and after it was delayed twice previously, Highway Authority interim director Bill Ray earlier this month expressed concern it might fall apart if held up any further.

This past Thursday was viewed as a critical deadline for money to begin changing hands in the $10 million deal, and a ruling for the plaintiffs may have derailed it entirely.

"There had to be a time limit on it, and to the judge's absolute credit he knew that and gave his opinion in a timely fashion," Broomfield mayor Patrick Quinn said Saturday.

Quinn, who along with Councilman Greg Stokes, represents Broomfield on the Highway Authority's board of directors, read the ruling Saturday morning. He said he was impressed by the depth of the analysis.

While preliminary design work for the highway has been done, Quinn said he is primarily concerned with getting financing squared away for the land swap, and that he will then look forward to what he feels will be a very positive project for transportation and economic development.

"As I've stated several times, the Jefferson Parkway is in (Broomfield's) comprehensive plan and our transportation plan," he said. "I think there is plenty of open space and protection around it so that development takes place where we want it to, so it's a positive thing."

The plan's opponents reacted to the ruling by reaffirming their contention that not enough assessment has been done to prove construction of the highway will be safe. They vowed to carry on their legal fight against it.

"This ruling opens the door for more sprawl and unplanned development along the Front Range, and at a time when open space is critical to our quality of life and the prosperity of our communities," Rocky Mountain Wild conservation director Josh Pollack said is a news release. "The highway won today, but in reality, our wildlife, our clean air, and our future generations have lost."

WildEarth Guardians and the Rocky Mountain Wild intend to appeal the judge's decision and seek an emergency injunction from a federal appeals court, according to that news release.

Debra Williams, a trustee for the town of Superior, said she was alerted to the judge's ruling Saturday morning. And, while she had not yet read the opinion in its entirety, she stands by the need for a more stringent environmental assessment of the area before the highway is built.

"I'm not seeing an environmental impact statement, and until I see that I am not convinced that it is safe to build anything on that property," Williams said.

She said the town's environmental lawyer is reviewing the ruling and city officials are considering their next steps.

"It's disappointing, but--no pun intended --it's not the end of the road," Williams said.

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